With Sorare announcing the opportunity to earn ETH threshold rewards every gameweek across multiple scarcities, it now means you can grind some yield from your cards in the limited division - Sorare's entry level to the paid version of it's fantasy game. With two "gameweeks" per 7 day calendar week, that will equal a potential to take home $10 per week in the limited scarcity - a potential to earn $520 per year from thresholds alone - with the added bonus of potentially winning more cards (with value of their own) in the same tournaments, it's easy to understand why the hype is ramping up across the network of users to try and "crack" the game mode and start yielding every week from their galleries.
NEW THRESHOLDS
For more information on the rules around this game-mode, check Sorare's blog post on it HERE. I won't get into the details of that on this blog, but will go ahead with the understanding of these basic truths of the gamemode to start a scouting mission with a budget of $75 only to build a squad of players from any given region.
Teams will have a score cap of 240 points to enter
250 points is needed to win the ETH threshold
Player cards will not have any % bonus applied to their score
No captain bonus
You need a maximum of 48 points per player on average (based on the player's L15 score average) spread across 5 players
You're aiming for your players to overscore in any given gameweek to make up the extra 10 points
Taking all of the above into account, We'll be aiming to pick up a selection of players whose scores fluctuate so that on any upcoming gameweek they may have the potential to overscore their recent average. I've gone with the $75 budget for this reason as I feel it will be beneficial to have more than a base 5 cards to select from in order to yield every week. Some players will not have games some weeks and some will etc - so having players from every sorare region will also aid your chances. Having excess cards from one specific region can also open your gallery up to entering the regional tournaments as well should you decide to pick up (or are fortunate enough to win) a spare goalkeeper or two. The 240 capped mode will allow you to field players from all divisions and regions, but for this post we'll focus on Asia as our first stop in the series.
I'm going to look into the market for players right now and try to handpick some of my bargain finds to put together a roster of players that i believe will be able to compete for the thresholds and (hopefully!) some card wins across the next few months. I'll be using the Sorare Data website to do my scouting and checking the current floor prices of each purchase. Of course, you always have the opportunity to make offers to managers who might be kind enough to knock another 10% or so off for you!
THE PICKS
--- All prices on this post are correct of 6pm on Saturday 7th Jan 2023 ---
GOALKEEPER
The most expensive card without doubt is the goalkeeper. For argument's sake we could buy a goalkeeper who doesn't play at all here and enter an average score of 0 and pick up a couple of backup keepers on the cheap instead - but that's no fun! I'm going to pick a keeper up here that I believe should start regularly (every game hopefully) and is good value for money in my opinion. Upon doing my research, an unusual opportunity presented itself....
Park Bae-Jong
Suwon FC
0.016 ETH ($20.24)
I've decided to play it safe with the Goalkeeper. Suwon's previous season's number 1 keeper Park Bae-Jong can be acquired on the cheap as there is some speculation about whether or not he will keep his place. So instead of trying to nail a keeper expensively, we'll play it smart.
No Dong-Geon
Suwon FC
0.0124 ETH ($15.69)
Picking up Suwon's new signing No Dong-Geon means we have 2 options now should one of our keepers end up on the bench while the other takes up the main spot. It means we can spend under $40 and have some security that we have a goalkeeper every time Suwon plays. Considering the current market, it'll be hard to pick up a sure-starter for that price - this presents us with a great value opportunity.
FORWARD
The next most expensive position to pick up from is the Forward. As it's often possible to pick up quality defenders and midfielders for pennies, I'll focus on picking up a handful of Forwards with potential to score well.
Kang Seong-Jin
FC Seoul
0.0101 ETH ($12.78)
Kang Seong-Jin is an interesting prospect at Seoul, who have lost a couple of great young players to the military service this season. He gets a lot of minutes off the bench but I'd expect that to increase for him this season as Korea's rule that teams must field at least one starter under 22 as well as using one from the bench. He's certainly one of Seouls better young players under 22.
Edgar
Daegu
0.0064 ETH ($8.10)
Edgar formed a great partnership with Cesinha at Daegu before an injury seemed to have forced him into retirement. He's back in for next season however, and I'd expect to see him and Cesinha link up for what should be an improved Daegu side from a disappointing last season. You should be able to pick him up for around $7 if you send offers into owners though - get a bargain!
MIDFIELD
Here's where things get really interesting - there is so much value to be found in the Midfield and Defender markets. Hitting the auctions to get players even cheaper is advised! But here are my picks based on current floor prices on the secondary market!
Seo Min-Woo
Gangwon
0.0042 ETH ($5.31)
A great bit of business bringing this guy in for around $5. With an L15 of 44, but an L5 of 66, this guy is sure to be one of the hot picks for the first round of K League fixtures. Gangwon have the ability to turn on the style and since moving Seo Min-Woo into the midfield he's seen a huge increase in his scores. Hopefully he'll continue there and not back in defence where his scoring was lower. A bargain nonetheless.
Min Kyeong-Hyeon
Incheon
0.0014 ETH ($1.77)
Here's a player who played 24 games last season, and still fills that U22 player quota rule for next season at Incheon. He picked up an injury near the end of last season so his price has dipped but we can expect some upside from this price point as well as utility.
Shuto Abe
Tokyo FC
0.0028 ($3.54)
One of the best bargains going, Abe is a regular starter in the Tokyo midfield alongside rising star Kuryu Matsuki. He averages around that 45-50 mark regularly, but occasionally pops up with a decisive score. He'll be a useful pick to make sure you keep below that 240 cap, but with a good chance of scoring a couple over average with the right fixture. An injury close to the end of last season has pushed his price down a touch but I'd expect to see him in the startin XI as soon as the J League kicks off again.
DEFENDERS
Finally, the position with the most cheaply priced cards on the market. Will be looking here for regular starters hitting scores around 48 on average, with a particular lean towards players in teams who keep can clean sheets. A good place to look is for teams with a good home record so we can pick up players who are likely to keep clean sheets at home. Their averages will be lowered by the away games so we can capitalise on the extra 10 points those clean sheets will give us.
HWANG Seok Ho
Sagan Tosu
0.0015 ETH ($1.90)
$1.90 for a regular starter who puts up really good all around scores is a steal. An L40 of 50 points shows how consistent he can be. Pairing him with players you're looking to hit a spike will be useful to guarantee you have a player or two likely to hit over 50 points on their average scores alone. This guy regularly hits green without keeping a clean sheet - so the weeks that is likely will be gold for you.
Hong Chul
Daegu
0.0008 ETH ($1.01)
A serious bargain to be had here picking up a Korean international for around $1. He's in a back four at Daegu that should improve as mentioned before with Edgar. Capable of putting up some big scores and we should certainly see a few more clean sheet bonuses this season you'd expect.
Akito Fukumori
Consadole Sapporo
0.003 ETH ($3.79)
Akito Fukumori has to be one of the best cards for the new capped mode on the platform. An L15 of 42.7 for him is one of the lowest scores he's found himself at in the past couple of seasons. Regularly capable of scoring in those dark greens, his L40 of 52 is much closer to what you can expect of this guy's output consistently at Consadole who are usually good at the back.
CONCLUSION & BONUS BUY!
Closing out our shopping spree at $74.13 gives us a monstrous selection of solid choices to hit that capped mode launching at the end of January. With J and K League fixtures coming just a few weeks into the new game mode, I'm certain our selections should yield more than their money back over the course of the year. With the K League available to stream legally and freely via their website HERE, you'll also be able to keep an eye on some of your new stars! With 87 cents left in the bank, surely there's a final bonus buy we can add though? Of course there is!
Yuto Nagatomo
Tokyo FC
0.0006 ETH ($0.76)
Not just any bargain addition, but a Japan international who even started their famous win against Germany in the 2022 World Cup! Not a formidable scorer, but a useful player with the ability to hit good green scores particularly if he's playing for Japan in their continental qualifying matches. A risk as he's not yet been included in Tokyo's recently drafted squad list for the new season, so maybe save your money until we get word on that omission! Hard to lose at this price though!
That concludes our deep dive into Asian squad selections on a tight budget! If you're new to Sorare and haven't signed up yet, you can use my referral link and you'll be awarded a bonus FREE limited card when you win your first 5 auctions! https://sorare.pxf.io/Stish